Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported the proportion of black and Hispanic members on the department. UPD has 6.5 percent black officers and no Hispanics.
Ball State's police department has seen a "dramatic increase in arrests" during the past three years, and it cites declining economic conditions in Muncie as the reason.
Data from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development shows unemployment at 11.2 percent in Delaware County in April, compared with 10.4 percent in the state and 9.5 percent in the country.
The Delaware County rate was only 5.2 percent in the same month in 2008, 5.7 percent in 2009 and 9.9 percent in 2010.
An assessment report for UPD was recently filed by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. It evaluated various aspects of the University Police Department's performance between 2007 and 2010.
The report showed a snapshot of crime on campus, indicating that violent crime accounted for only 3.7 percent of the offenses. The majority of the crimes reported were theft and larceny.
"Despite the economic decline and high crime rate experienced by the surrounding city fo Muncie, Ball State University remains a relative safe haven for students and staff," the report said.
The department was reaccredited after complying with 92.5 percent of the mandatory standards, surpassing the 80 percent minimum requirement.
Closed circuit television helps patrol campus parking lots by prevent crime. In 2008, 14 camera were installed at two major lots.
"To date, cameras have stopped several robberies and vehicle burglaries in progress and have assisted students who have misplaced their vehicles in the large lots," the report said.
Thirty-one citizen complaints were filed against UPD in the three years for which information was available. Of those, only nine were sustained. Four internal complaints were filed during that time, and only two were sustained.
The report indicated there is no internal affairs unit, but police chief Gene Burton manages these responsibilities.
Eight vehicle pursuits occurred during the assessment cycle. Only once was an offender was injured during the pursuits. Officers and third party citizens were never injured.
UPD is trying to hire more female officers and improve racial diversity as it seeks to maintain full staffing, the accreditation report says.
Most of the officers are white males. Of the 10 new hires in the last three years, nine of them were white males and one a white female. UPD staff is 6.5 percent black, which the report says is fairly similar to demographics of the campus community.
The number of the written traffic citations also reflect this demographic. Most of nearly 1,200 annual citations went to white males.
Ball State police scored well in all areas but one, it seemed: file preparation.
The old system has a hard time logging all the paperwork that comes in, and the officers don't seem to file it the same way.
"The assessors had difficulty maintaining a rhythm with their review, as the files did not have a standardized presentation," the report said.
More than three dozen files were returned by the assessor for clarification.
"Many of the agency's time sensitive standards were met by ‘accidental proofs,'" it said.
That means information that was gathered later — an email or notes that the agency was able to find once a file was rejected for insufficient documentation.
The report says that a younger workforce at UPD is the reason for more arrests and use of force. However, the definition of use of force should be considered. A threat or display of force, even just drawing a weapon, is considered within that category.
Use of force has increased from 14 percent in 2007 to 17 percent in 2009. Use of a firearm and weaponless force are the most notable increases.
Campus crime statistics have also risen from 2008-2010, for which the most recent information was available. Theft rose from 256 to 363 during that time. Alcohol-related arrests, however, went down from 615 to 453 during that time.
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